For years,
the Palestinian Authority and Fatah have claimed that Jesus was a
Palestinian, thereby fabricating a Palestinian history dating back 2000
years.Ignoring the fact that
Christian tradition defines Jesus as a Judean and that the Roman Empire
changed the name of Judea into “Palestine” only a hundred years after
Jesus lived, senior PA and Fatah leaders have presented as historic fact
that Jesus and his mother Mary were Palestinians and that Jesus was “the first Palestinian Martyr,” and the first Palestinian refugee, as documented by Palestinian Media Watch.

This
year was no exception. On the occasion of Christmas, Palestinian
leaders and officials spoke of Jesus as “the Palestinian”, “the first
Palestinian” and “the first Palestinian Martyr”:PA Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas stated that: “We celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Palestinian
messenger of love, justice and peace.” [Wafa, Dec. 22, 2014]

Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the Supreme Shari’ah Judge and Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs announced that: “Christmas
is also a Palestinian holiday, because Jesus, peace be upon him, was
Palestinian. He was born in Palestine; lived and was sent [as prophet]
to Palestine. Therefore, Christmas has a special Palestinian
flavor.’”[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 22, 2014 and Ma’an, Dec. 21, 2014]

District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam
expressed her hope for “victory, far off as it may be” and encouraged
Palestinians to “be merry” and celebrate Christmas as “Jesus the Messiah
is Palestinian”:

“We
are standing here, Muslims and Christians, in Yasser Arafat Square,
[named after] the symbol of our cause, to celebrate Christmas. So too we
will stand united to celebrate victory, far off as it may be. Merry
Christmas, let’s celebrate and be merry; Jesus the Messiah is
Palestinian, and we are Palestinians and will continue to hold our heads
high.”

[Official PA TV, Dec. 7, 2014]

Adnan Al-Damiri, the official spokesman of the PA Security
Forces, celebrated “the anniversary of love and peace, the birth day of
Jesus the Palestinian.” [Facebook page of Adnan Al-Damiri, Dec. 25,
2014]

Saeb Erekat, a member of the Fatah’s Central Committee,
referred to “the first Martyr, the first Palestinian, Jesus.” [Al-Hayat
Al-Jadida, Dec. 17, 2014]

Tawfiq Tirawi, also a member of Fatah’s Central Committee,
wished the “united Palestinian people a new Christmas that will herald
liberty, as did Jesus, the first Palestinian.” [Facebook page of Tawfiq
Tirawi, Dec. 24, 2014]